E3 2009 Quickie: Dark Void Hands-On

I was able to grab a quick 5 minute hands-on with Dark Void, Capcom and Airtight’s upcoming sci-fi title.

We’ve all seen the trailers and screenshots, so it is known that, graphically, Dark Void looks good.  However, I did notice that the game does have a bit of a pop-in issue.  It did not bog down gameplay or affect the action, so it isn’t a huge deal – it’s just there.

When on the ground, Dark Void plays like any other over-the-shoulder, third-person shooter.  The title’s major selling point is not its ground elements, however – two successive taps of the “rocket-pack” button allows our hero to take flight, with a “hover” button thrown in for good measure, allowing for quick stops and slow descents.  Once in the air, the flight mechanics might be a bit disorienting for those not accustomed to freedom of movement, though I imagine it will come natural to those that have played flight combat games.  I personally do not, and didn’t have any difficulty picking up the controls and zooming around.

A helpful NPC radioed me the specifics of what I was to do; destroy some relay towers so I can deactivate a shield bubble.  Disregarding his advice, I decided to muck around in the world and play with the controls a bit.  It’s a bit liberating to see the protagonist, Will, flying about freely.  Airtight has given him some fantastic animations for taking off, speeding up, stopping, about-faces, et al. – all help give the impression of what actual high-speed, jetpack flight might be like.

I should say that I’ve been following this game for a while and anticipate its release (especially with McCreary composing!).  Actually getting to play it, however, I feel that there may be a very serious issue: the camera.  When in flight mode, it is all over the place when the player executes turns or loops – it certainly does not help that it is positioned awfully close to Will.  Instead him being a character you control with the screen following him, if feels almost as if we are controlling the camera, with Will being an obligatory object in view.  This makes him more of an obstruction and takes us out of the experience.  I understand that this was a design choice; Airtight has attempted to capture the intensity of the world they have created.  Unfortunately, the decision to the camera so close screws with your depth perception. 

After flying around, getting used to the control scheme, I chose to land.  Zooming (to what I thought was) close to the ground, I activated hover mode and, when I felt comfortable, disengaged the jetpack.  I proceeded to fall about 40 stories to my death, where ragdoll physics and shame took over.  I was rotating the camera around the entire time, yet I could never see my feet so that I could judge the distance of my character to the floor. 

This issue might just be due to the limited time I actually spent with the game – I imagine to get the hang of it when I’m able to toy with the final release.